Recently, in the mornings, I have had the privilege of sharing my morning quiet time going through my readings with a friend. Said friend has been on a quest to better understand herself and the world as she perceives it. Whether or not she is aware of it, something she said last night spoke volumes. It is interesting, at least to me, that yesterday morning she “couldn’t wait” for our readings today, but last night she had made the first of many “right” steps towards independence and health. Instead of joining me this morning via telephone, she opted to meet up with another and share, talk and walk with her. In reading this, she might think she committed a faux pas, that is not how I perceive it. I believe she is being led where God wants her headed. She is blooming where she is planted! And I applaud that! Too often we rest where we feel safe, and while safety cushions are ever present, they don’t help propel us forward. A journey is not stationary and each of us is on a path of God’s design.
Yesterday’s readings spoke of this journey. In Luke 9:23, Jesus implores each of us to come after Him and take up our crosses. Well, it use to be when I read that passage it sounded like gobblety gook to me. In the “Message,” the translation read loud and clear. Simply stated, if we plan to walk the walk with Jesus, we have to let Him lead and sometimes the walk brings us to places of suffering. The crosses we are to pick up, are those sufferings. Why? Some think that following Christ means they get to live a life of charm, still others (especially those who don’t want to begin that walk) are afraid that when they do journey on the path with Christ, they will only meet up with suffering and therefore resist Him because they are afraid. As the song “Blessings” by Laura Story goes, sometimes our hardships are our blessings in disguise.
Suffering isn’t fun. I can’t think of anyone, except Mother Teresa who would readily sign up for that. Which brings me to another point. Maybe Mother Teresa didn’t really want the hardships her life encountered, but and this is a big but (which does not mean BS), she truly wanted to walk with Christ and did what most of us can’t, deny ourselves and put others first! At times I think I’m doing this, but at any given moment my selfishness points its incriminating finger(s) back at me and says “fraud!”
Moving on to what I read today, in Luke 9:48….For he who is least and lowliest among you – he is the one truly great. This scenerio was portrayed in Steven W. Smith’s book “The Jesus Life.” I arrived at this same passage where he was depicting how he and his wife made a spiritual retreat out of a barn in Colorado. The place is called “The Potter’s Inn” and someday I hope to be able to go there! He remarked about how varying the stature of the clients who come there, for their soul care, and how no one knows who has made the visit, because of the cloak of anonymity. I love what he says in regard to marveling at the situation “Somehow it became appropriate and often funny for me to look around and say, “Has my life come down to this, to my workplace being a barn and my pulpit a manger?” Getting back to Luke 9:48, it reminds me that our status isn’t what God looks at, but instead what we do for one another out of love, regardless of its complexity and who or who may not know.
How do we aid those afflicted with disease, whatever the disease? Do we repel them, because we are afraid that what they have we might catch? Or do we strive to come closer, to gain an understanding of their suffering? Does it depend on the disease or whether or not it is socially acceptable or whether or not it is deemed self-inflicted? Humanity is a sea of complexities and I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t have the answers to the causes behind our sufferings. I just know that I want to be part of the healing process, somehow, someway. I’m not sure what that looks like today.
That process is never a more daunting plea than when your loved one(s) is (are) in the midst of their dilemmas of suffering. They battle “the” disease, but those of us on the outside battle a different skirmish with them. It can be an ordeal of unknown proportions. They do the work we can’t even begin to imagine.
In conversation yesterday, my friend and I discussed how when reading the Bible, we don’t necessarily “get” passed the words. The point was made, that in our approach, we need to ask that God allow His Spirit to read along with us and then stop us at the point we need to focus and learn from. In reading this way, I came across this passage, again in Luke, this time 8:50, Jesus is talking with a father whose daughter is ill. He says “But when Jesus heard [it], he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.” The fear mentioned is the opposite of faith. Fear is doubt, created by Satan and is a choice by us. Really? We choose this? Yes, resoundingly yes. Again, why?
This stops me in my tracks. This is the crux of the whole matter. Everytime I allow myself to wander down the alley of fear, I’m saying God doesn’t have this(whatever “this” represents). Our humanness embraces this fear, this is the stigma birthed to us from Adam and Eve and yet God PROMISES us, through Christ, that we do not have to choose this path. So why do we? Why do I?
A friend of mine, who battled breast cancer 2 years ago is profound in her belief. She doesn’t say she is in remission, because that allows for doubt. She professes to be cured. She will have none of Satan stealing her joy. I am uplifted when I hear her speak. She lovingly corrects my mental sourness. There is NO room for doubt if for no other reason than it negates God’s ability to perform His miracles. The battle(s) waged are in our minds!
Each of us has our own issues where we need God’s sovereignity. Make your choice, faith or fear, the outcome should not come as a surprise! With every ounce of my being I’m choosing faith!
FEAR not, BELIEVE only!
Looking up!
Barb
Reflection full of grace.
ReplyDeleteOnce again Thank you, you writing inspires me and encourages my path
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